Joy Let Loose

Well, I let the cat out of the bag and told you my word for 2019 – Happy. 

Risky, I know.

Because what if I wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Or what if the dog chews up my shoes? Or what if I argue with my husband and I just want to be mad? Then you’ll know I’m breaking my New Year’s Resolution. Ugh.

Is it really like that? Can I just resolve to be happy? Well, in my last post I talked a little about the strategic element to pursuing happiness. And now I’m going to let you in a little on one actual day-to-day strategy.

What can you and I both do to help us to be happy?

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.

Andrew Carnegie

Goal #1 to being happy: Fill Up with Good Things

If you’ve taken a turn around Joy Let Loose at all, you’ll know I love Jesus. If you aren’t sure whether you do, that’s ok. It’s still cool you’re here. But I need you to know that Jesus is always my filter. He’s always my lens. (P.S. If you haven’t read anything else on my site, hang out awhile. Check out previous posts in all my menus. You’ll find stuff about family, about trauma, about moving, jewelry, and even my choice to use essential oils. There’s a little bit of everything here, but I see it all through Jesus. And I’d love to sit and have coffee with you for a bit.)

So anyway, my very first goal – filling up with good things – has to do with Him. And specifically, the Bible. Because I have come to trust the Scriptures to turn my attitude around.

Confession time:

I’ve been in ministry for 20+ years – Churches, Bible Colleges, Discipleship Groups, Youth Groups…that’s a long time to be a spiritual leader. And most of that time, I’ve been a faithful student of the Bible. However, there are seasons where I have fallen off the wagon, so to speak. Where I allow my busy-ness or my tired-ness or my sad-ness or my confident-ness 🙂 to distract me from what I know deep down is an ultimate priority. Because I allow them to pull me away from spending time reading the Bible. So I can tell you from firsthand experience how much of a difference it makes in my level of happiness when I choose to fill up with good things – I need the Scriptures to turn my attitude around.

Renew Your Mind

Paul tells the Romans not to conform to the patterns of the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. (Romans 12:2) So how do we renew our minds? I believe one primary way to renew our minds so that we do not conform to the patterns of our world, and so that we are able to test and approve God’s perfect and pleasing will, is to read and meditate on scripture.

• Scripture is a window into God’s heart. It is the primary way God chose to show us who He is. And it is abundant in the grace and love of our heavenly Father.
• Scripture is a mirror. It reveals to us who we are. And also who God has created us to be. It is direct, vulnerable, kind, and transformative.

• Scripture is living and active. It changes the way that we think and make our decisions.

• Scripture is a perspective-changer. Like a brand-new lens, it helps us to see things with a Kingdom focus. It helps us to discover what God is doing through our circumstances, and not to focus on the circumstances alone.

• Scripture sustains us. The Holy Spirit often uses it to remind us of truth in difficult moments. The more we are filled up with it, the more opportunity He has to fuel us with it in our day-to-day life.

Filling up with good things: the goal that commands my thoughts, liberates my energy, and inspires my hope.

With that in mind, then, who’s in? I’m choosing to depend on Scriptures to turn my attitude around. So do you want to join me to meditate on these 5 short passages over the next 15 days? I plan to focus on one Scripture for three days straight. I will read it, cross-reference it, write it out, memorize it, talk about it, and sit silently asking God to help me live into it. And I’m pretty confident this will help me on my journey as I choose #happy.

Join me!

So let me know by clicking here if you are joining me while I’m learning these 5 Scriptures to turn my attitude around. And if you do, I’ll send you a few encouragements along the way.

What about you – what’s your word for 2019? Have you created a strategy to see it become a reality in your life? Tell us in the comments below!